Articles by Patricia Simms

All Temp Furnace Installation Review – The Heat’s On

All Temp rated a Superior Service Award on Angie’s List, a Better Business Bureau BBB Accredited business, as well as Bryant’s Gold Medal of Excellence

Writers' Theatre HEARTBREAK HOUSE Review - Who's Heart Is Broken?

From the moment you enter the theater, you are enveloped in the luxury of the Heartbreak House’s ambiance and ambiguity

Richard III Review - Royal Ruthlessness a Rocky Ride

Says Artistic Director Barbara Gaines, “As he seduces us as his audience, we become complicit in his crimes

Animal Crackers Review - Shtick to the Script

Chaos. Music. Anarchy. Dancing. Romance. Clowning. Suspense. Hilaria. These are the top ten reasons to see Animal Crackers

Arizona Biltmore Review - Celebrating 80 Years as the Jewel of the Desert

The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa celebrates its 80th anniversary as the "Jewel of the Desert"

Desert Botanical Garden Review – Phoenix's Spectacular Desertscape

Chihuly,Music,Butterflies--the list goes on, but the reason to go to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden is the Desert Botanical Garden

Phoenix Symphony Review - A Bravura Performance to an Exuberant Audience

Phoenicians love their symphony orchestra and they love their Music Director Michael Christie

Heard Museum Review – A Celebration of Native Cultures and Art

The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a living museum - giving voice to a uniquely American people.

Phoenix Art Museum Review – Inside, Outside, an All-Around Work of Art

The Phoenix Art Museum is one magnificent, sprawling home for exquisite visual arts

Valley Metro Light Rail Review – Spring Break Aboard Phoenix’s Newest Mode of Transportation

The Valley Metro Light Rail system is a great way to get around

Wright's at the Biltmore Review - Compliments to the Chef

An elegant innovative menu awaits you at Wright's at the Biltmore, the signature restaurant of Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa

The Hotel Monaco Chicago Review - The Little Gem Down the Street from Jewelers' Row

The Hotel Monaco is an elegant in-city retreat from the city

Lyric Carmen Review - The Most Popular Opera in the World!

"What could make a man cheat on his fiancée, drive his mother to tears, and ditch a good job? One woman — Carmen! She's the sex-bomb, gypsy seductress who loves them and leaves them — tossing egos and hearts in the dust"

Do the Hustle Review - Writers' Theatre's Scamtastic World Premiere

Sam and Eddie Sisson are more than just father and son; they’re a crack team of hustlers always looking for the next mark

Rosetta Stone TOTALe Review – A Tale of Two Travelers

Learning a language the Rosetta Stone TOTALe way is probably the closest thing there is to being there because TOTALe is on-line and, therefore, accessible to you 24/7, wherever you are

Robin Hood Review - a Piccolo Panto for the Whole Family

The operative words here are "Piccolo Panto." With this production of Robin Hood, Evanston's Piccolo Theatre tailors the English Panto to its wacky, high-energy style

Lyric A Midsummer Night's Dream Review - Captivating Characters Cut to the Chase

It's a dream about a dream and a play about putting on a play

Lyric Macbeth Review - Double double toil and trouble

What an unbeatable formula. Shakespeare. Verdi. Barbara Gaines, founder and artistic director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Even though this was Gaines debut at the Lyric, there was never any doubt that she could bring out the Shakespeare in Verdi

Low Pay? Don't Pay Review - Piccolo Theatre's Extravagantly Hilarious Farce

Dario Fo, 1997 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, reprises his signature style--lampooning the powerful and elevating the downtrodden

Steppenwolf's A PARALLELOGRAM Review - a knock it out of the park season closer

A Parallelogram may not be a sexy title for a play, but it is totally engrossing, unpredictable but consistent with the plot and characterization, thoughtful, funny and profound

Sweet and Hot Review - Go for the songs, the showmanship, the dinner

Six scintillating, sexy, and sweet twenty-somethings sing Harold Arlen--the creator of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"--to our heart's delight. Go for the songs, the showmanship, the dinner. Get the whole Theo Ubique experience

Itsoseng Review – Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Gripping World Stage Series Opener

Itsoseng balances comedy and tragedy in the story of a young man's yearning for change amid the politics of township life during and following apartheid in South Africa

Chicago Theatre District Review – Celebrating 10 Years Dramatically

Because the impact of 10 years of Chicago’s theater life has been so dramatic, it’s important that you, I, theatergoers and just plain lovers of Chicago stop and pay attention to what a handful of visionaries with the backing of one courageous mayor did. And are still doing